The invention relates to a system for and method of performing nondestructive evaluation techniques on a log or round timber and, particularly, a system for and method of performing nondestructive evaluation techniques on a log or round timber for assessing the stiffness and modulus of elasticity of the log or round timber.
Many decades of inappropriate management practices, or lack of management altogether, have produced large acreages of forest stands that are overstocked with small-diameter trees of mixed species. These stands are typically low in value, and the harvestable material will not cover the costs of needed management treatments. A specific example is the interior west region of the United States, where 39 million acres of ponderosa pine-type forest have lost ecological integrity due to major changes in vegetative structure and composition. These changes have been caused by control of fire in an ecosystem where historically there were frequent, low-intensity stand maintenance fires. Exclusion of fire has led to the current conditions where these stands are now at high risk of attack by insects, disease, and stand destroying wildfires. Restoration, either mechanical or through prescribed fires, can cost $150-$500 per acre. It is essential to find cost-effective products that can be produced from the materials available in these stands so that needed management operations such as thinning can be implemented to improve the condition of these stands. Economical and value-added uses for these removals can help offset forest management costs, provide economic opportunities for many small, forest-based communities, and avoid future loss caused by catastrophic wildfires. Among the issues of great concern for engineering applications of these removals are the variability and predictability of their strength and stiffness.